Bauer is a German surname that simply means "farmer" or "peasant", from the Middle High German gebur, a neighbor or fellow villager. As a first name it is an American invention of the occupational-surname kind, alongside Baker, Sawyer and Brooks, and many parents will know it from Jack Bauer, the hero of the television series 24. Bauer stood at number 7511 in 2000, peaked at number 2235 in 2019 and ranks number 2486 for boys in 2025.